We had such a great time at the Doyon, Limited annual meeting this year. It was wonderful to meet and visit with so many of you who stopped by our table, and we appreciated the opportunity to present to you during the annual meeting. We took lots of photos – check them out on Facebook and be sure to tag yourself!
During our presentation, our executive director, Doris Miller, and language revitalization program director, Allan Hayton, shared about the two primary focus areas here at the Foundation – scholarships and language revitalization.
We were excited to announce that we distributed almost $1 million dollars in scholarships last year alone! And so far this year, we have awarded nearly 300 scholarships totaling more than $377,000.
We also reminded everyone planning to attend school this fall to mark their calendar for our fall scholarship application deadline coming up on May 15. This is the deadline to apply for competitive scholarships for the 2018 – 2019 academic year and basic scholarships for the fall semester. Applicants will apply using our brand new online scholarship application system, which offers a more streamlined, user-friendly experience for both our students and staff.
A reminder that our scholarships are not just for students pursuing traditional four-year degrees at a college or university. Funding is also available for Doyon shareholders who want to pursue vocational training. Vocational students are eligible for basic and competitive scholarships, as well as our short-term vocational scholarship, which pays the cost of the course or training, up to $1,000.
We also highlighted two brand new scholarships at the Foundation … the Marissa Flannery and Aaron Schutt Legal Scholarship Fund, and the Mary Jane and Hugh Fate, Jr. Leadership Fund. Doyon President and CEO Aaron Schutt and his wife, Marissa Flannery, partnered with Doyon, Limited last year to establish the endowment for a new competitive scholarship for aspiring young lawyers. Jennifer Fate, a member of the Foundation board of directors, established the Mary Jane and Hugh Fate, Jr. Leadership Fund to honor her parents’ accomplishments for the betterment of the Doyon people.
Since so many shareholders gather at the annual meeting, we took the opportunity to invite our alumni – which includes any previous Foundation scholarship recipients – to connect with us. We’d love to hear where you are and what you are doing, and continue to stay in touch with you. Foundation alumni can contact us at 907.459.2048 or foundation@doyon.com.
Allan then shared about all the exciting activities taking place in the area of language revitalization, including Doyon Languages Online, which is an online language-learning platform for Doyon region languages. We are currently working on creating lessons for nine of the 10 Doyon region languages. Access to the lessons will be free and available to all interested learners.
Interested language learners can soon get a preview of Doyon Languages Online, as we are getting ready to launch a series of Hän language lessons by the late Isaac Juneby. Keep an eye on our website, blog, email and Facebook for updates on these lessons.
Allan reminded interested organizations to get their applications in for the Our Language grants, which provide funding to communities or organizations that wish to undertake a project to revitalize their Native language. Last year, eight proposals were funded up to $5,000. This year, we will award grants of up to $8,000. The deadline to submit a proposal was March 26, and we will be announcing this year’s recipients early this summer.
With a program growing as quickly as the language revitalization program, it is important to have a plan for the future. Allan updated everyone at the annual meeting on a recent strategic planning session that explored developing long-term strategies, identifying concrete steps for language revitalization, and inspiring new grassroots efforts for our region.
Doris closed the presentation with “thank yous” in each of the Doyon region languages, showing appreciation to our many supporters, including Doyon, Limited, the Foundation staff, board and volunteers, Nee Ts’ee Neyh and Pick. Click. Give. donors, Morris Thompson Memorial Golf Classic golfers and sponsors, and all of our language teachers, learners and supporters.
In addition to our presentation, we staffed a table at the annual meeting, where we had a video showing Doyon Languages Online activities, a language-learning demonstration, a language map, and nametags that read “Hello, my name is …” in each of the Doyon region languages.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by! We look forward to seeing you all again next year, and hope you will stay in touch with us throughout the year by: